Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will no longer rank schools based on student performance, a change attributed to addressing “longstanding structural racism.”
On Wednesday, the CPS board approved a 5-year strategic plan that pledges to have a “renewed focus on equity.” CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez explained during a Special Board Meeting that “everything is done through an equity lens.”
“Our new approach does away with school rankings and labels and just like our shift in defining student success, we’re not just going to look at a narrow set of outcome data…” Martinez said. “We’re going to be tracking and focusing the inputs on practices, conditions, resources, supports, and putting the onus back on the district to ensure that each school has the components to drive student success.”
Board Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland added that Chicago has a history of “longstanding structural racism and socio-economic inequality” and that opportunity gaps for students have persisted despite education reforms.
Martinez also explained that student success has traditionally been defined by metrics that “heavily rely on test scores.” The new approach aims to take a more comprehensive view of student success, measuring not only academic progress but also student well-being and empowerment.
“Measuring not just academic progress because that is still important, but student well-being and connection to the extent that they’re an empowered decision maker. Whether or not they’re prepared and making sure they’re prepared for post-secondary success,” he continued.
The strategic plan, titled “Together We Rise,” is a 47-page document outlining district priorities seeks to close the “equity gap” by prioritizing funding for schools with the greatest need rather than focusing primarily on enrollment. However, CPS faces a projected $500 million deficit for the next academic year, as federal COVID-19 relief funds are nearly depleted, according to a report by Fox News.
